Apple sees record iTunes & software revenue at $4.4B

While plenty of people are talking about Apple’s hardware business, the company’s software side is also performing quite well.

Today, Apple reported $4.4 billion in sales from iTunes, software, and services for Q1 of its 2014 fiscal year, which includes purchases from iTunes Store, the iOS App Store, the Mac App Store, and the iBooks Store and revenue from sales of AppleCare, licensing, and other services. This number is up 19 percent compared to the same period last year and up 3 percent since last quarter.

More specifically, Apple’s iTunes saw $2.4 billion in revenue for the quarter, which is a new company milestone. It’s software and services also set a new quarterly record at $2 billion in sales. The growth is probably due to the larger number of people using iOS devices, especially those in international markets. And with Apple now operating in China, the company should see even larger revenue on the software side over the coming year.

During the earnings call, Apple noted that it’s seeing higher software sales across all platforms despite its decision to begin offering many of its recently refreshed iWork apps for free. Honestly, I’m not really sure that’s much of a factor anyway, and this might even show how uninterested the general iOS consumer actually is in paying for native Apple apps.